Solutions

POLICY INNOVATIONS

Bonding requirements for risky industries are nothing new. Most countries have one form or another. It is time to extend this concept to the unambiguous risks associated with climate change. Here is how it would work…

GENUINE PROGRESS

In the first city-level analysis of its kind in Maryland, the Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE) found Baltimore’s economy well on the way to economic recovery taking into account social and environmental…

FEATURED PROJECT

Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Hawaii-based Forest Agriculture Research Management Center (FARM) to propagate an innovative model of forest restoration designed to manage…

CSE works with governments, business leaders, educators and non-profits to develop innovative policies, new indicators of progress, and interactive on-line tools to foster the transition to a sustainable economy. We promote policy solutions based on a new paradigm of growth centered on well-being rather than an ever expanding scale of industrial activity. Our pioneering work on the Ecological Footprint and Genuine Progress Indicator helps establish these and other sustainability metrics as the vanguards for the new economy. Our award winning online tools for measuring sustainability have helped spotlight the beneficial impacts of lifestyle changes and green products. Our work on sustainability solutions includes:

POLICY INNOVATIONS

Making a swift and equitable transition to a sustainable economy will require a new suite of policies that encourage investment in natural and human capital, local self reliance, cooperation, sustainable production and consumption, and many other fundamental shifts from the conventional economic growth model. CSE helps develop public policy mechanisms like tax incentives, public procurement guidelines, regulatory standards and new institutions to encourage this transition. We help identify and disseminate information on best practices using case examples worldwide. We work cooperatively with public officials at the national, state, and local levels to develop policy innovations that are fine-tuned to local needs and circumstances.

GENUINE PROGRESS INDICATOR

The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is one of the leading candidates for supplementing or replacing gross domestic product (GDP) as an overall barometer of economic well-being. Together with Redefining Progress, CSE helped pioneer advances to this metric and its application to economic policy decisions. At a very basic level, the GPI is designed to answer two fundamental questions about economic activity: (1) what portion of that activity is actually making us better off, or in other words, related to true economic well-being and (2) what portion of that activity is likely to be sustainable over the long run? CSE is working to promote use of the GPI at the national, state, and local levels, working with practitioners internationally to improve the accuracy and theoretical validity of the GPI and pioneering ways to apply GPI in policy settings.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

The Ecological Footprint is one of the world’s most ubiquitous and rigorous sustainability metrics. It provides a spatial measure of just how much nature is being appropriated to support our lifestyles, production and consumption activities and assimilate our wastes. CSE helps governments, non-profits, universities, and businesses adapt the ecological footprint to help measure sustainability performance. We use ecological footprint analysis to help identify measures that can reduce their impact on the planet.

SUSTAINABILITY ONLINE

Center for Sustainable Economy has teamed up with award-winning web developer Kinga Dow Productions and other non-profit partners to provide interactive tools for government, business, and educators seeking to utilize the vast power of the web to promote sustainable decision making and advance environmental education. We host one of the world’s most popular ecological footprint calculators to help guide sustainable lifestyle choices. We design ecological footprint calculators to demonstrate the benefits of green products. We help develop and manage sustainability challenges for students and employees. And we have designed on-line sustainability courses and curriculum modules addressing the ecological footprint, GPI, and green infrastructure.